


Life's Great Lie

by Infinite_Monkeys



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Awesome Natasha Romanov, Canon Divergence - Avengers (2012), Canon-Typical Violence, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Interrogation, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Writing Fanfic for The Original Avengers to Avoid My Feelings About Infinity War, no infinity war spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 01:48:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14906135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Infinite_Monkeys/pseuds/Infinite_Monkeys
Summary: Freedom is life's great lie. He's seen the truth. Someone finally realizes what, exactly, that means.





	Life's Great Lie

**Author's Note:**

> All the standard disclaimers apply: I do not own these characters or the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Quite a lot of things would be different if I did.

People assumed that Natasha Romanov was called the Black Widow because of her ability to seduce and kill, deadly like the spider that was her namesake.  
  
People were wrong.  
  
True, she was skilled at seduction and true, she was probably more assassin than spy, at least before Clint and SHIELD.  
  
But her most valuable skill, the one that had gotten her the name and made her one of SHIELD's most valuable agents, was gathering information. She knew how to weave her words into webs, to cross and knot the threads of an interrogation until she trapped her victim in a devastating truth. Often, the subject did not even realize they were being questioned until the moment she got exactly what she needed. If she did her job particularly well, they did not realize even after.  
  
She had successfully pulled secrets from assassins and spies and soldiers and diplomats, men who wouldn't have broken under the most brutal of torture. She teased them out with a delicate touch or startled them onto unprepared lips or traded them for the illusion of power.  
  
And now SHIELD wanted her to turn those skills on an ancient and dangerous being once worshipped as the god of lies.  
  
She wondered if it said more about her or him that the thought didn't intimidate her in the slightest. Her pulse picked up as it always did, but the adrenaline was the thrill of a hunter stalking her prey.  
  
He looked and sounded surprised to see her, or at least pretended to. If he was actually this easy to read, well, her job would be easier than expected.  
  
"I thought you'd come after," he said. "After whatever tortures Fury could concoct. You'd appear as a friend, a balm, and I would cooperate."  
  
She kept her face impassive. It wasn't that far off; in fact, they might have chosen to go that route except for two things.

One, Thor seemed to still be somewhat protective of his brother despite their current state of conflict, and they'd prefer to keep him an ally if at all possible.

Two, she'd picked up on something in that crazed speech he'd given before they captured him, and though she couldn't see yet where that thread lead, she had a feeling it was important.  
  
She sat down, cross-legged, in front of the glass, a position that would force him to choose between straining his neck looking down at her and coming down to her level. He remained standing.  
  
"You said something before that… caught my attention. About freedom."  
  
The man in the cage arched one eyebrow. "That it is life's great lie? Yes, I imagine you dull lot would find that surprising. You shall come to understand it in due time, though, after I have taken control of this small, petty world."  
  
"Uh-huh." She let her eyebrows show her disbelief, but his expression remained neutral, and he didn't say anything further that might hold clues to his plans for world domination. Well, worth a shot. She dropped that thread and picked up another.  
  
"So, freedom is a lie. And you've seen the truth?"  
  
He tried to keep his expression impassive, but she caught it, the faint twitch of muscles that signified a suppressed grimace. "I have. As you all will when I…"  
  
"Yes, we know, your plan to become Earth's overlord." She swallowed. "So, Barton. You showed him this... truth?"  
  
She had surprised him again. So he actually was this easy to read, else he had underestimated her and was making no attempt to hide his reactions.  
  
Unless he had another reason for not wanting to hide.  
  
"The Archer, yes," he said at last. "What is he to you? A friend? A lover perhaps?"  
  
She flinched internally, and a part of her wanted to chase down that thread, to search out scraps of information about Barton, how he was, how to save him. But she was a professional, and she was capable of seeing when a thread was too tangled to bear fruit, even if the thing tangling it was her own emotions. She let it drop, circled back.  
  
"So you did."  
  
He tilted his head. "A revelation of such magnitude demands to be shared."  
  
Ah. She crossed that thread over, fastened the knot, and picked up another.  
  
"You know, a lot of people here are upset with what you've been saying. I don't know about where you're from, but here people believe pretty strongly in freedom. It's one of the things we value the most. From our perspective, you're trying to steal that away from us."  
  
"And why," he sneered, "should I care for your _perspective_?"  
  
"Why shouldn't you? If you truly intend to rule us, you should know how we think."  
  
"And you intend to help me?" He snorted, derisive. "I'm not that naive."  
  
She allowed herself a small smile. "No, you're right, I don't intend to help you conquer the Earth. But then, if you truly listened to what I was saying about freedom, I doubt you'd still want to."  
  
"Freedom is a _lie_ ," he said viciously.  
  
"So you said. But if it's a lie, why do so many people believe it?"  
  
For once, he didn't answer right away. He looked thoughtful, as though he were truly pondering the question. "I think," he said at last, "that you have all had the idea beaten into you. Hammered through your thick skulls from a young age until you don't know to believe otherwise. As you said, there are many on this world who embrace the lie of freedom. It takes courage to step forward and accept the truth of you."  
  
"I see," she said at last, and pushed to her feet.  "One last thing. Where is the Tesseract?"  
  
His face split into a grin without a trace of mirth, but if she was reading him right his eyes looked... disappointed. "I'm surprised you took so long to get to the point. The truth, Agent Romanov," and that did unnerve her a bit, she knew no one had told him her name, "is that I don't know."  
  
"Alright," she said, and left the room.  
  
Thor was waiting for her on the other side of the door. "I told you that you would get nothing from him," he said, crossing his arms.  
  
She allowed herself a small, smug smile, barely a twitch of the lips. "I got everything I need."  
  
Thor's astonishment was almost comical. If she had thought his brother was fairly easy to read, Thor was an open book, the kind with large words and lots of pictures.  
  
Fury stepped forward, demanding her attention. "So you know where the Tesseract is? Because it seems to me you barely asked him about it as an afterthought, and when you did he shut you down."  
  
Coulson hovered behind him, silent for now, but she could tell by the twitch of his lips that he understood the significance of their exchange. He always had been one of the few who understood and respected her skills, so for all that she respected Fury, Coulson was the reason she stayed with SHIELD. Him and Clint.  
  
"No," she admitted. "But I know how to stop him, and how to recover our compromised agents." She turned to Thor. "Do you think if you hit your brother in the head with that hammer of yours you could knock him out without killing him?"  
  
Fury looked ready to object, but Thor beat him to it. "My brother may be mad, but I do not wish him harm," he said unhappily. "I will stand against him in defense of Midgard as I have sworn, but for now he is safely contained."  
  
"I don't think he's mad," she said, and Fury gave her a look, but the naked hope in Thor's eyes almost made her smile before it started to fade. "I think something is controlling him the way he controlled Barton and the others, and I think knocking him out will snap him out of it."  
  
Coulson nodded, looking satisfied, which meant he'd come to the same conclusion while listening in. Fury raised one eyebrow but didn't try to contradict her.  
  
"You truly believe this?" Thor asked.  
  
She pursed her lips then nodded once, sharp and decisive. "I do."  
  
"Then I can do it. I must."  
  
***  
  
Loki didn't go down under Thor's first blow, or his second. Instead, he laughed, an awful, half-choked sound, and sneered at his brother.  
  
"Is that the best you can do?" he spat, slurring the words and scrabbling to push himself back up from the floor where he'd fallen. "I've seen you crush Jotunn skulls in a single blow. Have you grown weak? Soft? Sentimental?" He finally made it to his feet, swaying and staggering. Thor was crying, the tears running unchecked down his cheeks. "Don't tell me you've changed your mind now about what must be done with monsters." He half-fell, and caught himself on Thor's free arm. "Finish it," he whispered viciously, his eyes unfocused, and a final blow from Mjolnir sent him tumbling senseless to the floor.  
  
Thor sank down beside him, sobbing now, and pulled  Loki into his lap, cradling him like one might a small child. The final blow from the hammer had opened up a small cut on his forehead, and Thor pulled his cape around, using one edge to apply pressure to the bleeding.  
  
He held his unconscious brother close for a few seconds, then looked up and met Natasha's eyes. "I hope you're right," he said, voice cracking.  
  
She hoped so too.  
  
After a minute or so Loki stirred, opened his eyes. "Thor," he said blearily, then looked around. "That woman—Agent Romanov. Thank her for me. I swear she has more brains than all of Asgard combined."  
  
Thor let out a small chuckle and wiped at his eyes, while his other hand continued holding pressure to the bleeding cut.  
  
Fury stepped forward. "Where's the Tesseract?"  
  
Loki swallowed, then frowned, turning his head and dislodging Thor's fingers. "I gave it to Barton and Selvig. They are... you must do with them as you did with me. A blow to the head."  
  
"And where are they?"  
  
He shook his head. "Selvig, I don't know. Barton will be here soon, though, and he'll be able to tell us once we..." he gestured to his own head, wincing as Thor shifted and moved to stand.  
  
"And what then? Will you stand with us against those who sought to control you?" Thor's expression hardened as he spoke, and Loki's answering grin was nothing short of vicious.  
  
"Gladly, brother," he said, and let Thor pull him to his feet.


End file.
